Initiative to breathe life into town centre residential buildings
Property owners can avail of up to €40,000 to make buildings suitable for housing
A NEW social housing initiative designed to regenerate Enniscorthy will be unveiled next week.
The initiative, which is being rolled out by Wexford County Council, will see the upper levels of commercial properties in Enniscorthy town centre renovated and brought back into use as social housing.
Currently very few commercial properties in the town centre are used as living accommodation and this new scheme is designed to address this.
Next Monday night, housing officer Padraig O’Gorman will unveil details of the project including the availability of a very generous financial package, worth up to €40,000, to interested properties owners which will be used to bring the properties up to the required standards for letting.
A MAJOR new social housing initiative which will help to regenerate Enniscorthy will be unveiled by Wexford County Council next week.
The initiative which is being rolled out by Wexford County Council will see the upper levels of commercial properties in Enniscorthy town centre renovated and brought back into use.
The now vacant upstairs levels previously served as the living quarters of shop owners in the town centre while they ran their businesses on the ground floor.
Currently very few commercial properties in the town centre are used as living accommodation and this new scheme is designed to address this.
Next Monday night housing officer Padraig O’Gorman will unveil details of the project including the availability of a very generous financial package, worth up to €40,000, to interested properties owners which will be used to bring the properties up to the required standards for letting.
President of Enniscorthy and District Chamber of Commerce, Maree Lyng, said the initiative has its full support saying it represents a ‘fabulous opportunity’ for the town’s business people.
To avail of the new scheme each individual property will have to be assessed to determine its viability to provide social housing and must have been vacant for at least 12 months with proof of vacancy being required.
There must also be a social housing demand in the area but given the long waiting list in the town for housing this is not expected to be an obstacle.
Property owners who avail of the scheme will not have to source tenants for the properties no manage day-today maintenance when the property is repaired or collect rents yet they will be guaranteed rental income for the period of the lease.
The public information meeting, which is being organised by Enniscorthy and District Chamber of Commerce, will take place at 7.30 p.m. on Monday 16 in the Riverside Park Hotel.
The meeting is open to all property owners in Enniscorthy town with an interest in this new Repair and Leasing Scheme.
It will be attended by officials from the housing department of Wexford County Council, Deputies Paul Kehoe and James Browne, members of Enniscorthy Municipal Districts and representatives from Enniscorthy Chamber.